Search

The article presents the results of research connected with the implementation of pain, anxiety and depression scales and questionnaires in patients with low and high levels of alexithymia (AT). Patients with high level of alexithymia experience difficulties working with psychometric instruments, which are used in the process of diagnosis in diseases associated with pain syndromes, anxiety disorders and dizziness. So, the comparative research of questionnaires and scales informativity for non-alexithymic and alexithymic patients is really urgent. The research was conducted at the laboratory "Clinical linguistics" (Kazan Federal University) from 2016 till 2018 and included two groups: 60 neurological patients with high level of AT (experimental group) and 60 neurological patients with low level of AT (control group). The level of AT was measured with the help of Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS - validated Russian version). The sample was presented by Russian-speaking patients. Patients were tested by TAS to define the level of alexithymia, then they were offered psychometric instruments for the measurement of pain (Pain Rating Scales; Brief Pain Inventory; McGill Pain Questionnaire) and psychometric instruments for the measurement of anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; Beck Depression Inventory) with different structure. The aim was to estimate the level of clarity of the questions and descriptors from scales and questionnaires. The form of testing was written and oral simultaneously. The authors give the comparative analysis of above mentioned instruments implementation in both groups and suggest their recommendations for specialists who use these scales and questionnaires in patients with AT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problems of pain diagnosis and treatment through the use of language are really acute all over the world nowadays. The quality of diagnosis and treatment directly depends on a person's ability to accurately define it. Verbal communication is one of the most powerful tools in psychology, and this tool has speech and language specific features. In Russia there is a lack of instruments for the evaluation of pain and other sensations, especially in patients with alexithymia [1] who often have psychosomatic disorders. Many issues related to the phenomenon of alexithymia are still problematic. There is no unambiguous interpretation of the concept itself, its nature, the mechanisms of formation and development. To determine the level of alexithymia, there are different scales and questionnaires: TAS (Toronto Alexithymia Scale), BVQ (Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire) etc. Semantic model of speech of patients is characterized by the moderate or severe deficit at different stages: the stage of inner speech, the formation of a deep-syntactic structure, the stage of verbal expression. So, patients with alexithymia have a deficiency in cognitive processing of emotional information as they pay attention to the physical state, while the psychological state remains at an unconscious level. As a result, the negative emotions are not expressed and appear as various somatic symptoms, such as eating disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, bronchial asthma, diabetes, musculoskeletal diseases, fibromyalgia, hypertension, coronary heart disease, neurotic disorders, chronic pain syndromes, stress disorders, depression etc. Thus, different types of limits in verbalization of emotions and feelings lead to the development of various somatic disorders in patients. The paper describes the connection between alexithymia and psychosomatic disorders and discusses the linguistic aspects of this problem. The collection of anamnesis and complaints in alexithymic patient causes many difficulties in everyday medical practice. Medical specialists need specific diagnostic tools for such patients - batteries of tests and questionnaires with a set of word descriptors and phrasal descriptors for different types of negative sensations, especially pain. This project is launched at Kazan Federal University by the multidisciplinary group of scientists including neurologists and linguists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A group of clinical linguists at Kazan Federal University are developing protocols of speech assessment for the patients with neurocognitive diseases as part of the project titled "Neurolinguistic Aspects of Speech Disorders". The test includes qualitative estimation of the results of neurolinguistic tests. This paper covers those parts of the protocols which are associated with the selection of proverbs and idioms offered to the patient to determine his/her speech status. We conducted a linguistic experiment in population (on subjects) without cognitive decline. 100 respondents of different ages were given a list of pre-selected proverbs chosen according to three criteria. The set of proverbs included 25 units. The material received from the respondents was analyzed and summarized. The proverbs with multiple meanings were excluded. We received a list of proverbs and sayings that people without speech disorders can understand clearly. Other units were excluded out of the database. Our findings further support and provide new ways in the development of neurolinguistic protocols. Our experiment helped to create tests which can be included into qualitative estimation of speech disorders in patients with cognitive decline. The results can be used in clinical work by neurologists, neuropsychologists and neurolinguists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]